QatarEnergy to boost North Field gas output by 85% by decade-end

Qatar’s state-owned giant QatarEnergy has announced a new LNG expansion project in the North Field offshore project which, together with previously announced expansion plans, would increase its gas output from the field by 85% by 2030.

The Minister of State for Energy Affairs and the president and CEO of QatarEnergy Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said that the new expansion project named North Field West would raise the country’s LNG production to 142 mtpa before the end of the decade.

An appraisal drilling and testing campaign confirmed that productive layers of the North Field extend westward, allowing the development of a new LNG production project in Ras Laffan.

The work done on the field also noted the presence of additional gas quantities in the North Field estimated at 240 tcf, raising Qatar’s gas reserves from 1,760 to more than 2,000 tcf, and condensates reserves from 70 to more than 80bn barrels, in addition to large quantities of LPG, ethane, and helium.

Qatar’s current LNG export capacity is around 77 mtpa. The North Field East expansion is expected to add around 33 mtpa, followed by the North Field South expansion, adding a further 16 mtpa of liquefaction capacity. The now-announced North Field West project will add another 16 mtpa by 2030. With the completion of this project, Qatar’s total hydrocarbon production will exceed 7.25m barrels of oil equivalent per day.

According to Greg Molnar, International Energy Agency’s gas analyst, when all the expansions are complete, Qatar’s LNG total export capacity will be near 200 bcm. In comparison global LNG trade stood at 550 bcm in 2023.

Al-Kaabi added that QatarEnergy would immediately begin the basic engineering works to ensure that the planned progress for North Field West is achieved on time.

In a recent development, the Qatari giant ordered 15 LNG carriers from Samsung Heavy Industries in a deal worth $3.44bn, with all ships set to be delivered by October 2028.